Sports for grades 9–10: questions with answers

The Sports questions for grades 9–10 from the game, with the correct answers and an explanation for each.

  1. How long is a round in professional boxing?

    • 90 seconds
    • 2 minutes
    • 3 minutes
    • 4 minutes

    Correct answer: 3 minutes — Professional rounds are three minutes with a one-minute rest; title fights are twelve rounds, reduced from fifteen in the 1980s.

  2. Which country hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930?

    • Argentina
    • Brazil
    • Italy
    • Uruguay

    Correct answer: Uruguay — Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final in Montevideo; only thirteen teams took part, four of them from Europe.

  3. How high is the rim of a basketball hoop above the floor?

    • 2.75 m
    • 3.05 m
    • 3.30 m
    • 3.50 m

    Correct answer: 3.05 m — The height of 10 feet has not changed since James Naismith nailed peach baskets to a balcony railing in 1891.

  4. How many minutes of playing time does an NBA game have?

    • 40
    • 48
    • 60
    • 80

    Correct answer: 48 — Four quarters of twelve minutes; international games under FIBA rules use four quarters of ten.

  5. What is the highest possible score in a game of ten-pin bowling?

    • 200
    • 250
    • 300
    • 360

    Correct answer: 300 — A perfect game is twelve strikes in a row: ten frames, with two bonus balls in the tenth.

  6. How long is one period in ice hockey?

    • 5 minutes
    • 10 minutes
    • 15 minutes
    • 20 minutes

    Correct answer: 20 minutes — Three periods of twenty minutes; the clock stops whenever play stops, so a game usually lasts well over two hours.

  7. How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    Correct answer: 4 — Owens won the 100 m, 200 m, long jump and 4 x 100 m relay in front of Hitler, who had hoped the Games would show off Aryan supremacy.

  8. Which golf tournament awards a green jacket to the winner?

    • The Open Championship
    • The US Open
    • The PGA Championship
    • The Masters

    Correct answer: The Masters — The Masters has been played at Augusta National in Georgia since 1934, normally in April; the champion keeps the jacket for a year.

  9. In which city did Usain Bolt run 100 m in 9.58 seconds in 2009?

    • Beijing
    • Berlin
    • London
    • Moscow

    Correct answer: Berlin — The time came at the World Championships in Berlin, a year after his 9.69 at the Beijing Olympics; he also ran 19.19 in the 200 m there.

  10. At which Olympics did Mark Spitz win seven gold medals?

    • Mexico City 1968
    • Munich 1972
    • Montreal 1976
    • Moscow 1980

    Correct answer: Munich 1972 — Spitz set a world record in every one of his seven events; his mark stood until Michael Phelps won eight golds in Beijing in 2008.

  11. Which two disciplines make up the Nordic combined?

    • cross-country skiing and shooting
    • downhill and slalom
    • speed skating and ski jumping
    • cross-country skiing and ski jumping

    Correct answer: cross-country skiing and ski jumping — Competitors jump first, and their scores set the starting gaps for the cross-country race; it has been an Olympic event since 1924.

  12. In which sport do players slide granite stones across the ice?

    • curling
    • skeleton
    • luge
    • bandy

    Correct answer: curling — Curling stones weigh about 20 kg and are made of granite from the Scottish island of Ailsa Craig; sweeping the ice changes their path.

  13. How many points is the black ball worth in snooker?

    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8

    Correct answer: 7 — Reds are worth one point and the colours two to seven: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.

  14. Who invented basketball in 1891?

    • James Naismith
    • Abner Doubleday
    • Walter Camp
    • William Morgan

    Correct answer: James Naismith — Naismith, a Canadian teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, wrote thirteen rules for an indoor game to keep students active in winter.

  15. Who, according to legend, invented rugby by picking up the ball during a football match?

    • William Webb Ellis
    • Thomas Arnold
    • Charles Alcock
    • Ebenezer Morley

    Correct answer: William Webb Ellis — The story is set at Rugby School in England in 1823; the Rugby World Cup trophy is named the Webb Ellis Cup after him.

  16. Where is the Olympic flame lit before every Games?

    • Athens
    • Olympia
    • Delphi
    • Lausanne

    Correct answer: Olympia — The flame is lit from the sun's rays with a parabolic mirror at the ancient temple of Hera in Olympia, then carried by relay to the host city.

  17. Which is the oldest of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments?

    • Australian Open
    • French Open
    • Wimbledon
    • US Open

    Correct answer: Wimbledon — Wimbledon was first played in 1877, followed by the US Championships in 1881, the French in 1891 and the Australian in 1905.

  18. Which country won the 1966 FIFA World Cup?

    • Brazil
    • Portugal
    • West Germany
    • England

    Correct answer: England — England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley; Geoff Hurst scored the first hat-trick in a World Cup final, matched only by Kylian Mbappé in 2022.

  19. In which country did Muhammad Ali beat George Foreman in the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle'?

    • Zaire
    • Nigeria
    • Kenya
    • Ghana

    Correct answer: Zaire — The fight was held in Kinshasa, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ali used his 'rope-a-dope' tactic to tire Foreman out.

  20. How many Formula 1 world championships did Ayrton Senna win?

    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 7

    Correct answer: 3 — Senna won the title in 1988, 1990 and 1991, all with McLaren, before his death in a crash at Imola in 1994.

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